A fire that ripped through a Victorian cottage owned by former Tory cabinet minister Lord Mayhew was started by squirrels, he has said.
Lord Patrick Mayhew, 79, who served as Attorney General under Margaret Thatcher between 1987 and 1992 and as Secretary of State for Northern Ireland under John Major between 1992 and 1997, said he hoped the cottage could be saved after Wednesday's blaze.
Lord Mayhew was knighted in 1983 and elevated to the House of Lords in 1997.
The fire destroyed 90 per cent of the roof and the entire first floor of the cottage in Cranbrook. It is believed the rodents chewed through electrical cables in the roof.
The 1890-built cottage is rented out to tenants, and an insurance assessor is to inspect the property and see if it can be saved.
Four fire crews, some with breathing apparatus, were at the scene from
12.39pm and the last firefighters left at 7.51pm.
No-one was injured in the fire.
POSTED: 08/01/2009 15:15:00
Bookmark with:
Email to a friend: